Ramblings of a Field Target Junky

To many a string winder is just a string winder but to a match director this can be a source of utter frustration -- for many. Case in point are the current string winders that we use. They work great but have a tendancy to get tangled WAY too easily when they are in a box being taken from one location to the next and also after a match when people don't keep tension on the string as they wind. Lately is seems that one person is spending the entire time untangling a line.Probably two years ago I went to DIFTA, in Frederick, MD, for one of their shoots and just fell in love with their winders. Simple, efficient, tangle free, and small footprint. All of that from a simple piece of plywood, who'd have thunk it :)So in an effort to make things more efficient on my end I set about duplicating these pieces of wood so that I could replace our current winders with these new ones in time for the 2019 season.I started by figuring out what size I wanted length wise. I wanted 12" between the two half circles. I then looked at the hole cutting bits that I had and decided on the largest one which is 3" diameter. So the final rectangle would be about 15" x 4". Got a sheet of 1/4" plywood, cut that into 15" strips, and then cut each strip into 4" strips.The hole saws are hard to handle, so I made a quick jig out of some scraps to help. I put a straight edge on top of another board and then drilled a hole 2" from the straight edge. I could not place the strip next to the straight edge, put the inner drill bit into the hole and push the strip I intended to cut a 1/2 hole in right up against the inside drill bit. Start up the drill and a couple of seconds later you have your 1/2 hole. Flip over and repeat.I think the worst part of drilling these holes was getting the 1/2 circles out of the cutter.I then took each stack of finished winders and drilled two holes, in opposite corners, so that you can fold the string in half, put it through the hole and loop it around the edge. This then prevents the winder from unwinding and also gives a strong method of pulling the string and is easily undone for winding up at the end of a match.I ran all of the edges over a sander, which also had a rounded end to get inside the circles where the string would sit. Ended up with 60 of these, which is the minimum I need. I'll probably pick up another piece of 1/4" ply so I can make some extras for Pistol and 4-H courses.I'll paint them, transfer the string, and get some more pictures at a later time.